Figure 1.--This American boy wears a sailor tunic with fancy scalloped detailing. He wears his sasilor tunic with a white peaked cap.
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Figure 1.--This American boy wears a sailor tunic with fancy scalloped detailing. He wears his sasilor tunic with a white peaked cap. |
The most common headwear for the boys wearing sailor tunics at the turn of the century was the wide brimmed sailor hat with a streamer. Some boys also wore sailor caps in various styles. While the sailor-styled headwear were by far the most common styles worn with sailor tunics, there were many other styles worn. The peaked cap was a popular style at the turn of the century. While normally worn by older boys, peaked caps were occasionally worn by a boy in a sailor tunic. Unfortunately as mothers usually removed a boy's hat to have his portrait taken, images of the boys wearing their hats are not as common as images of the suit themselves.
There are not as many available images of boys in tunic suits wearing hats and caps as HBC would like to determine the headwear commonly worn with sailor tunics. Unfortunately as mothers usually removed a boy's hat to have his portrait taken, images of the boys wearing their hats are not as common as images of the suit themselves. Amateur snap shots began to appear in the 1900s, but many of the more detailed, clear images are still studio portraits.
The most common headwear for the boys wearing sailor tunics at the turn of the century were various styles of sailor theme headwear. The wide-brimmed sailor hat with a streamer was particularly common in the 1900s. Some boys also wore sailor caps in various styles and these became more popular in the 1910s..
The wide brimmed sailor hat for younger boys became a fashiin staple for boys in the 1880s although smaller brim styles were worn in the 1870s. As sailor tunics became popular for boys at the turn of the century, mothers chose the established wide-brimmed sailor hat.
Figure 2.--This boy was pictured on a Birtday card wearing a sailor tunic with a soft sailor cap. |
Other mothers choose the various styles of sailor caps instead of the more formal wide-brimmed sailor hat. Some boys might have had both a wide-brimmed hat for formal occasions and a cap for more informal wear. There were many styles of caps. One common style had a flat top. Another was a soft toped cap. These caps came in various sizes. Some were quite large. A good example here is a Canadian boy in 1907. French boys had a cap with ared pom on them.
While the sailor-styled headwear were by far the most common styles worn with sailor tunics, there were many other styles worn. The peaked cap was a popular style at the turn of the century. While normally worn by older boys, peaked caps were occasionally worn by a boy in a sailor tunic.
Boys wearing sailor tunics were generally younger boys up to about 7 or 8 years of age. HBC has been unable to detect any age trend in the types of headwear. Our initial assessment is that the wide-brimmed sailor hats may have been worn by the younger boys.
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